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If you were to close your
eyes and imagine the perfect Christmas scene, would it
involve two travel-weary people in a cave struggling to
bring a new child into the world beneath a clear fall
sky? Or would your picture bring on a winter scene that
would fit into a Norman Rockwell painting with small
children building snowmen, images of Santa Claus
decorating yards and doorways, strings of various
colored lights burning brightly, twinkling from
neighborhood houses, and perhaps a manger scene
prominently displayed with the child Jesus surrounded by
Mary in her elegant robe, not a hair out of place,
Joseph sitting calmly by, and three worshipping wise
men? Jesus, who sacrificed Himself in the greatest
expression of love toward mankind…isn’t He the reason
for the season after all…or is He?
So is there anything wrong with the Norman Rockwell
version of the day of Christ’s birth? Let’s examine some
of the details of the traditional Christmas scene and
see where it all goes wrong.
Three Wise Men? Most Christians believe the typical
manger scene is taken from the Bible. While the book of
Luke, chapter 2, does describe the events surrounding
Christ’s birth, stating that, in fact, Joseph and Mary
were visited by shepherds who saw Jesus lying in a
manger, there is no mention of three wise men visiting
them until the young family was later found residing in
a house:
“And when they were COME INTO THE HOUSE, they saw the
young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and
worshipped him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)
The exact number of wise men isn’t given either, only
that they bore three types of gifts proper for a king:
gold, frankincense and myrrh. The exact date isn’t
given, nor the time of year when this visit took place.
Was the fateful day of Christ’s birth in the winter --
December 25th -- as is so commonly believed? Scholars
have taken clues from Luke 1:5 and Luke 1:24-45 together
with Jewish sources such as the Mishnah and Talmud to
approximate Christ’s actual date of birth relative to
the birth of His cousin, John the Baptist. As it
happens, John’s birth is estimated to have occurred in
the spring of the year and Jesus, being about 6 months
younger, is believed to have been born in the fall.
If Christ was most likely born in the fall and not
winter, then why do Christians celebrate Christmas --
Christ’s Mass -- on the 25th of December each year? Many
people all over the globe who have no connection
whatsoever to Christianity know the answer to this
provocative question.
The History Behind December 25th
December 25 has a very interesting history. It is a date
that caused great anxiety for ancient people who
associated it with the sun’s ebbing to its lowest point
in the sky. Appearing to stand still, the sun shone
weakly on agrarian people who depended upon it for
sustenance…to them, the sun was the great life-giver.
Therefore, ancient people, full of superstition and
lacking the knowledge of the true God, developed rituals
to encourage the sun to come back to its full strength.
These rituals dealt with the concepts of birth and
resurrection, not of our Savior, but of the sun, the
object and god they worshipped. The rituals themselves
have been called by various names in various cultures;
however, they always occurred at the time of our
modern-day Christmas celebration -- the time of the
winter solstice.
Winter solstice is a term we don’t use much today. The
term solstice is derived from the Latin words sol
meaning sun, and sistere meaning to stand still. The
sun’s waning each December was of great importance to
people in Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and Mexico, as
well as to many other cultures. Their pagan cultures had
these things in common: they feared the weakening of the
sun’s strength, worshipped the creation instead of the
Creator, and were pagan in practice, as well as belief.
Today, modern pagans calling themselves “Neo-pagans” are
often the most knowledgeable when it comes to winter
solstice rituals, calling their pagan celebration
“Yule”. They observe the festival close to its original
form. Not surprisingly, they are only too happy to
herald that Christmas is simply the winter solstice
celebration of old, with blended customs and symbols
from many pagan cultures. Neo-pagans argue that
Christians cleaned up the holiday by stamping Christ’s
name on it, but that it is simply a pagan holiday
renamed. Both pagans and self-proclaimed Christians
erect evergreen trees trimmed in tinsel and ornaments
while attending prayer services and announcing the
re-birth, or birth, of the sun, or Son.
The decorated evergreen tree is unarguably the most
widespread, well-known symbol associated with Christmas:
it has also been a central part of pagan worship for
thousands of years. Back in the time of the prophet
Jeremiah, people were already worshipping false deities,
using decorated trees in their worship. The green tree,
thought to have magical powers because it remained alive
when other vegetation went into hibernation, was a
symbol of hope for ancient people. Jeremiah 10:2-4
describes the fear associated with the winter solstice
and God’s admonition concerning this pagan practice:
“Thus says the LORD: Do not learn the way of the
Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for
the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of
the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the
forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the
ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten
it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple.”
Tree worship appears in every major ancient culture. The
Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Druids, and countless others
decorated trees around the time of the winter solstice
from approximately December 22nd thru the 25th of each
year. Today, Europeans and Americans can be added to the
list. If tree worship is pagan, it is not surprising to
discover that other Christmas symbols such as the holly
wreath, mistletoe, Yule log, Christmas lights, gift
giving, and Santa Claus are also pagan in origin, and
are closely associated with the festival of the winter
solstice.
The word pagan doesn’t carry a lot of meaning for people
living in our modern world. Some individuals, when
confronted with the well-documented pagan roots of
Christmas, say, “What does it matter? We use these
symbols and customs now to worship God, not pagan idols
and deities.” Christmas has been so “christianized” by
our culture that most people don’t realize its pagan
origins are a serious matter with God. So we ask: Is it
really acceptable to take a tradition or symbol of pagan
origin and seek to honor God with it? Read Deuteronomy
12:30-32:
"Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to
follow them, after they are destroyed from before you,
and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying,
'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do
likewise.' You shall not worship the LORD your God in
that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He
hates they have done to their gods….Whatever I command
you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it
nor take away from it.”
These verses clearly show that God does not delight in
the “christianizing” of pagan customs on His behalf. He
looks upon these traditions and symbols with disgust, as
a reminder of men’s foolishness and disobedience to Him
and of their base and evil behavior toward one-another.
Does God Change?
The Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today,
and forever (Hebrews 13:8): He does not change. His
wrath has always been kindled against people who turn
from worshipping Him in the specific ways that He
requires (see Leviticus 23 for a list of the festivals
God has commanded) to adopting foreign practices and
customs of the nations around them. Much of the Bible
addresses God’s anger toward individuals and nations who
forfeit a relationship with Him for the empty and
depraved practices of pagan worship. Even the Apostle
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was vexed at how the
people of Athens were completely given over to pagan
idols (see Acts 17:16).
To follow God, a person must be willing to meet God’s
standard of worship. That standard is found in John 4:23
where true followers are described as worshiping God “in
spirit and in truth.” To worship God in truth means that
each of us must be willing to see things from God’s
point of view -- for what they truly are -- not from
what we have been conditioned by society or our families
to believe. Truth touches every subject, every area of
life, even customs that are deeply entrenched in our
culture -- customs most people might consider normal for
the times in which we live. Idol worship, however, has
always been “normal” for the people of this world, other
than God’s called-out people; but God has never condoned
such worship. In fact, He always required His people to
come out of and away from the sinful practices of those
around them. (Deuteronomy 4:19; 1 Corinthians 10:20-22;
Romans 1:25)
The Christmas holiday is one of the easiest modern-day
festivals to trace back to its pagan origins. It becomes
a mystery, then, why Bible-believing Christians
participate in it.
The truth is, Christians of the New Testament did not
participate in the celebration of Christ’s birthday at
any time of the year. They memorialized his death and
resurrection instead. It is no secret that the Christian
church was not quick to adopt Christmas. The Catholic
Encyclopedia explains: “Christmas was not among the
earliest festivals of the church..…the first evidence of
the feast is from Egypt.” In England, Oliver Cromwell
preached against “the heathen traditions” of Christmas
carols and decorated trees. The English Parliament
abolished Christmas in 1644 calling traditional holiday
foods like plum pudding and mincemeat pie heathen, and
compelled shops to be open on Christmas day. Throughout
the first two centuries of American history, the
Puritans and their descendants forbade Christmas. They
condemned many Christmas customs such as the use of Yule
logs, mistletoe, and holly; and at one time fined people
for participating in Christmas rituals. It wasn’t until
the early nineteenth century that the celebration of
Christmas gained some acceptance in American culture.
Today, Christmas is widely celebrated in America; yet it
took approximately fourteen centuries -- from about 375
to 1820 A.D. -- to gain near-universal acceptance.
Today, the emphasis in Christmas celebration appears to
have passed from religion to commercialism involving
Christmas gift-giving, holiday special events, movies,
and the like. Many retailers base the success of their
financial year on how Christmas shopping goes. Now, with
the economy in such rough condition, Christmas shopping
is even more critical – it has become an important prop
in holding up a badly sagging economy. There is more
pressure than ever to spend, spend, spend; and credit
card offers fill mailboxes, encouraging accelerated
spending and greater debt that few can take on with
confidence. The true Christmas spirit now appears to be
one that pushes people toward even less discipline when
it comes to managing their finances. Only a few attempts
to remind us Jesus is the reason for the season hit the
airwaves. It appears few care about Jesus. Instead, most
grouse about the money they have to spend on others,
while they hope Santa will liberally pour out the gifts
they want to find under their own glittery trees.
Whether or not you celebrate Christmas does matter. It
matters to God, and if you are seeking a relationship
with God -- the God of the Holy Bible -- it should
matter to you. Isn’t it time you looked more deeply into
your Bible to determine what it is that God requires of
you? Please visit our
free-literature page on this web site to find
publications that can help you learn more about who God
is and what He requires of those who seek to worship Him
“in spirit and in truth.” |